Many smartphone users keep their devices in bed to charge while they sleep, but the seemingly harmless habit nearly killed an Alabama man last month.

Wiley Day fell asleep on March 22 with his iPhone charger connected to an extension cord near his head. When he woke up the following morning and rolled over, his metal dog tag necklace touched the charger head's exposed prongs, which had partly separated from the extension cord.

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The contact sent a surge of electricity through his body.

The 32-year-old Huntsville resident described the sensation as "the eeriest, darkest, most demonic thing you could ever experience. I don't have enough adjectives to describe it."

Day said he was thrown from his bed. Within minutes, his body went numb.

"I guess people would think it would be burning, but in my case I felt a whole lot of pressure around my neck," he explained.

Day's adult niece ran into the room and pulled off the necklace. Smoke wafted out of the extension cord, leaving scorch marks on his shirt. His skin was burned from the chain.

Day was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with second- and third-degree burns on his neck and hands. He was released after three days, and it's become his mission to warn others of the dangers behind charging one's phone in bed.

"I found out most people were using extension cords because they were still on their devices in bed," Day said. "I mean, it's sad but true."

Smartphone users are advised to keep their devices on a nearby table, chair or the floor when they're connected to chargers.

"From my experience to others, it is not worth your life charging your electronics in bed. I mean, it's not worth it," Day added. "I wouldn't wish what happened to me on my worst enemy."

Last month, a London man died after resting a charging smartphone on his chest while taking a bath. The cause of death was accidental electrocution - leaving the victim covered in severe burns after the charger and cable came into contact with water.